Field
The present invention relates to service processing, and more particularly to systems, methods, and computer program products for managing service requests in accordance with the availability of services, processes, and components.
Related Art
In the field of service processing on a network, it is common to execute services (and/or processes which comprise the services) by utilizing multiple different nodes (e.g. systems or entities) on the network. For example, in a mobile commerce environment, one system might be responsible for managing security in communications, whereas another system might be responsible for generating content such as offers. By using multiple nodes across the network, each providing different services, it is ordinarily possible to provide a robust set of services across the network.
Nevertheless, due to planned or unplanned circumstances, service interruptions may occur on the network. For example, a node on the network may become unavailable for a period of time due to a planned outage or a malfunction. As such, any services associated with (e.g., performed or executed by) the node will also become unavailable.
Accordingly, one technical challenge involves maintaining reliable processing in the event of a service interruption. In particular, rather than immediately rejecting every service request (or treating the request as a failure), it is desirable to at least attempt to wait for some period of time to see if the service can be provided. At the same time, there is a need to control processing of requests so that the system is not overwhelmed during or following such service interruptions.
Moreover, conventional systems may simply indicate that a node is off or on, without considering the consequences of the unavailability of the node. Thus, another technical challenge involves providing a more robust consideration of the context of “unavailability” on a network.